Tomorrow I move out of my house. I've been in this state for twenty-two years, and living in the same rural suburb for twenty-one of them is finally coming to an end.

Most of what I want to take with me is in boxes behind my back, ready to be loaded up into my car and taken 1,000 miles to my new home in the Colorado mountains. I've made this decision a few months ago, realizing Sandwich can't offer me much security for my future. There's nothing here to do, no one here to see, and nowhere to go but away.

So I made the rather easy choice not too long ago when speaking with my new employer out west. I'm leaving Tuesday, and with it hopefully starting a new chapter in my life. This may only be temporary, I may have an entire summer to myself, who knows, it all depends on how things go out there this winter. It's going to be hard work, seeing as it's what I used to do, but everything is from scratch. I see myself doing very well out there, but anything could happen.

Update 1: That One Night In Iowa

I left my house at 10:30 in the morning after packing up and saying goodbye to my folks. Driving wasn't too bad, seeing as it's all highway for the most part, but I till took some time to take breaks every so often so it doesn't seem daunting when it comes to driving. I crossed the Mississippi River for the first time in my life, and while it is pretty big, it doesn't look really formidable. As such, it'll be the last time I see my ancestral homeland for a while, so I gave it a middle finger and wave it goodbye.

All was going well until about 50 miles out of Des Moines when I saw a cop pull out from where he was sitting. I was like "Don't go after me, don't go after me." Sure enough he pulls me over, and I give him license, registration, and insurance. He tells me I was not only going 11 over 70, but I was following a truck too close. How sad that not even 24 hours after I leave home I get pulled over for a $140 moving violation.

However...

He noticed that I had a plate frame on my rear plate, and according to Iowa law, those are not allowed to cover your plate numbers or sticker. Mine don't, which is weird, but he took a long time to write me up so he must have done some thinking. He told me that he changed my moving violations to warnings and ticketed me for a lesser offense, being the "obscuring plates."

I could have said it was bullshit, but I know he threw me some mercy, so I thanked him. We were courteous to each other and we were on our way after our encounter. He saved me about 60 dollars, and it was my first ticket. Live and learn.

It was on to Des Moines from there. I got there at 5 and got a room (a king all to myself), from which I'm writing this update. It's still hard for me to eat due to having wisdom teeth removed last Thursday, but I'm managing. Can't wait for the discomfort to end though.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get halfway through Nebraska, maybe stop off in Lincoln to see a friend for a while if he's not busy, though I doubt that with our schedules.

Let's hope there's less tickets in my future

Updates: Part Deux

I got through Nebraska no problem. I left Des Moines in the late morning and got to a hotel in Lexington, Nebraska. It was getting really cold as I got west, so I stopped before I got too far in potential trouble. At this particular hotel, I learned a few things:

-Highway hotels and motels are 50% cheaper than downtown hotels, but...

-Having no internet in the cheap motel was no fun

-There's a reason the pool was not occupied, and it's because the pool room was like a meat locker.

-A 6 foot tall, 195 pound male with a 40 inch chest somehow floats in a PFD designed for a 50-90 pound child with a 24 inch chest. Not recommended for survival situations but it's nice to know I can bend the rules.

I decided to go non-stop from Lexington to Snowmass Village. As soon as I started approaching Denver I saw for the first time the Rocky Mountains. As a flat lander for all my life, it was nothing short of breath taking. Driving through them was even more insane.

The different constant shift in elevation played Hell on my ear drums. But holy shit, was it beautiful. The towering heights of the mountains, the red rocks, the lush forests, they all kick the shit out of cornfields. It's something I don't think I can ever forget seeing or experiencing.

I hope I can keep up with his new lifestyle. We start business next week, and it's going to be cooking from scratch with large amounts of tables. It's going to take all my focus and skills to come out on top.

I've always wanted to write my own story, and this is just another chapter in the book.